


Nine Days

by whurmy



Category: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Angst, F/F, Farroncest - Freeform, Romance, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-04 21:37:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4153887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whurmy/pseuds/whurmy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lightning had never been good with words. She had been good at taking action; usually involving her fists.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nine Days

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first Farroncest. ;3; What a thought. Not the bestest, but pickins are slim, so give it a shot. :*

Lightning had never been good with words. She had been good at taking action; usually involving her fists. So, when Serah told her that Snow had asked her out (and she’d said yes), Lightning didn’t ask for an explanation, or give one for her instant mood change. She merely stared at Serah, watching her eyes, waiting for her to say she was lying.

All Lightning could see was desperation, for her approval.

Ha.

“I’m going to be late for work,” she said flatly, standing and pushing past her sister.

“Lightning, wait-”

The door slammed shut behind her and she tried to think of everything but the look on Serah’s face.

-

“We need to do something about NORA.”

“Lightning,” her lieutenant warned, “We’ve been over this. They don’t pose a threat.”

“Don’t pose a threat?” Lightning echoed, disgusted. “You really believe it’s safe to entrust the safety of Bodhum to a bunch of hardheaded, untrained civilians?”

Lieutenant Amodar let out a sigh, a product of having this conversation one too many times.

“I didn’t say I was entrusting anything to them, Commander. And, if I remember correctly, I found you as a hardheaded, untrained civilians. All you needed was a little discipline, and look at you now-”

Lightning slammed her locker shut, punching her pauldron harder than needed to activate it. “Whatever,” she bit out, harsh and vicious, a tone she never used with her superior. “If you aren’t going to do anything about them, then I will.” She didn’t look at him again before turning to leave, on a mission.

“Lightning,” he called. She stopped, but didn’t turn around. “If you really think they’re a danger, then I won’t stop you. But please, think about it before you burn down the city. Okay? You know your sister is close to that Snow kid.” Lightning’s hands balled into fists at her sides, her blood boiling white hot.

“Yes, sir.”

Her cape flickered behind her, angry and fierce and Amodar sighed heavily as he turned back to his locker.

He liked the kids that made up NORA, for the most part. Sure, they’d gotten in the way a few times before, but they were good kids. He admired their desire to protect and serve without committing their lives to the military. Look at what had happened to Johnathan Farron…

He shut his locker and punched his pauldron, a red light glowing to life. If Lightning felt so strongly about NORA’s disbandment, perhaps she saw something he didn’t.

But still. He was felt bad for those kids.

-

Three days of pulling favors, avoiding Serah, and ignoring overtime regulations later, Commander Farron led an (admittedly excessive) squad of a dozen armed soldiers into the open air, sea side cafe.

“What the hell is this?” The owner- Lebreau?- asked. Lightning tutted to herself. She liked Lebreau. Too bad.

“An order demanding you cease funneling money to NORA. The Guardian Corps are through with-”

“Lightning!” A familiar voice called, pushing through the crowd like a damned Behemoth. “Stop this! What are you doing?”

She ignored his very existence.

“And this,” she said, holding up both folders and dropping them onto the bar, “is another order, demanding the immediate disbandment of the civilian government group NORA, in clear violation of Code 434.” Lebreau had already tore open both folders, scanning through them over and over. “It’s okay, I’ll wait.”

Lebreau’s angry eyes flickered to her for only a second, then went back to desperately, carefully reading. Finally, she set them down and leaned both arms onto the bar, jaw set as she hissed, “fuck…”

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Snow pushed Lightning aside and snatched up the papers. “Lebreau, there has to be something we can do.” Desperate. The bartender shook her head, grinding her teeth.

“Why?” Snow demanded, turning around around and holding the papers in Lightning’s face. “We were only protecting Bodhum!”

Lightning was done. She snatched at his wrist, quickly side stepping and twisting his arm high behind his back to slam him onto the counter. When he was too tall for his face to hit the surface, it made her angrier.

She bent over him as much as she could, growling out, “You don’t protect shit, Snow. The Guardian Corps do. We’re _trained_ to protect Bodhum. You’re just a bunch of self righteous, adrenaline junkies looking for ways to raise hell. I’ll be damned to Pulse before I let you put Bodhum at risk again.” She twisted his arm harder, higher, and he groaned. “Or Serah. I would have ended you, Snow.”

“Lightning?”

The Commander looked up, the group of onlookers immediately moving out of her sight until she saw Serah, standing in the entrance of the cafe.

“W-what’s going on?”

The stared at each other, angry steel blue eyes clashing with bright, sea foam green. Lightning locked her jaw, shoved Snow into the bar for extra effect, and yelled, “Move out!”

The soldiers marched in two single file lines through the cafe with their Commander at their tail.

“Lightning!” Serah called to her, reaching her arm out. Lightning didn’t even look at her.

-

The training room was full of men and women, the sound of punches, kicks and aggressive grunts filling the air.

Lightning was tired. Her limbs ached with excessive exercise and lack of sleep, but she didn’t stop. She kept replaying the scene at the cafe over and over again in her head, for days now.

She hadn’t seen Serah, except that one time, in nine days.

The realization made her punches stronger. Her knuckles throbbed, her forearms burned, but she pushed through, delivering hit after hit.

She tried to picture Snow’s grossly stubbly face on the bag’s upholstery, but all she could think about was how Serah looked at her.

Disappointed. Hurt. She punched harder. Confused. Her fists curled tighter. Utterly betrayed. Her nostrils flared, and she became starkly aware of her heightened body temperature, the layer of sweat over her body, the slickness of her hair.

Love. Her next punch was weak, set to slap the surface instead of pummel through.

She was so damn tired.

“Farron!!” The booming voice made Lightning jump. Amodar stood outside the open door of his office, angrier than she’d ever seen him. “My office, Farron.” She swallowed hard, her stomach sinking, but her feet didn’t move. “Now, Farron!”

She ripped off her gloves, spit her mouth guard onto the floor and stomped towards her Lieutenant.

The usually comforting office made her stomach twist and turn. As she collapsed into the thin arm chair, she lifted her tank to wipe sweat off her upper lip. Her shirt was nearly soaked through. She ached all over.

The door swung shut, not overly hard, and Amodar walked behind his desk, falling into his chair with a deep sigh. He didn’t say anything to her for several beats, just studied her as his anger dissipated.

“What’s going on, Lightning?” She wanted to be able to tell the man who had fought aside her father, been his best friend. Her unofficial godfather.

She shrugged. “I’m fine, Lieutenant.”

He nodded. “How’s your sister?”

She ground her teeth. “Serah’s fine.”

“Did she get that scholarship to Eden University?”

Her stomach felt sick and hot. She had no idea. Nine days.

“Why did you call me in here, Lieutenant?” she asked instead.

Amodar gave her a long look as he leaned forward, then shuffled through a stack of papers on his desk before pulling out what Lightning already knew to be her time clock statement.

“According to this, you have worked sixteen hour days for the past nine days. As a matter of fact, you weren’t even supposed to come in three of those days.” He cleared his throat and leaned onto his desk. “Claire, have you even been sleeping?” He stepped over a line, and Lightning tipped her chin up as she spoke.

“I recently earned a promotion, Lieutenant. With that privilege comes the responsibility to train.”

“I gave you that promotion because I thought you could handle it, Farron.” He knew he’d hit a nerve. He didn’t know what else to do. “Did I make a mistake?”

The question tore through her. Her fingers gripped the wooden arms, her nails digging in and her sore knuckles turning white.

“No, sir.”

Amodar sighed heavily, tossed the papers onto his desk and leaned back, studying her again. She looked away, to the back of a picture on her Lieutenant’s desk. His wife and son, she knew.

“The Guardian Corps acknowledge and appreciate your dedication, Commander Farron.” He leaned forward again, folding his hands together over his desk, speaking carefully. “But, Lightning, as your superior and friend, you are working yourself too hard. You’ve put in nearly a hundred hours in nine days. That’s just too much for one person.

“I can handle it,” she said firmly, meeting his eyes again. They were still warm. She hoped she looked as fierce as she felt, deep beneath her exhaustion.

“You’re stubborn like John was,” he said suddenly, taking a moment to look at another picture, of her father. She didn’t look at it much. “And I don’t believe you. You look like you’re about to collapse.” She was. “And I have a feeling this is your way of dealing with something else.”

Her left eye twitched, whether from her nerves or her lack of sleep. She didn’t know anymore. She was cornered, and she stared at the floor.

“I’m sorry, Lightning, but I have to send you home for the rest of the week.”

Her stomach plummeted and she looked at him, wide eyed.

“Lieutenant-” she began, disbelief in her voice.

“My hands are tied, Lightning. They’ve already reported you to my boss, I don’t have a choice.”

Her ferocity was gone as the message sunk in, her fire extinguished, her rage deteriorated. It transformed into a fine, dusty sadness that burned her eyes and clogged her lungs. Lightning Farron, the fiercely admired Commander who had climbed so quickly through the ranks in five short years, sat crying in front of her superior. She hadn’t cried since basic training, and the tears kept leaking out. It was more humiliating to acknowledge their existence and wipe them away than to let them stain her face.

Pathetic.

“Go home, Lightning.” Amodar said. “Go home, talk to your sister. I’ll see you on Monday.”

She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

She took a lukewarm shower, only able to prolong her drive home as long as it took for her overheated body to start shivering,

She was dreading this.

-

Her tired eyes were red and puffy when she pulled into the driveway. She removed her helmet, hanging it on a handlebar and shakily running a hand through her messy hair, still damp from her quick shower.

The house was almost completely dark, but she could just make out the flashing of the television through the thick curtains. Serah was probably curled up on Lightning’s end of the couch, watching the news to find out if her sister had been killed in the field.

Would it really be so bad, if Lightning wasn’t around anymore? Serah had Snow now, and all the other ex-members of NORA. She’d be fine without her big sister. Maybe Lightning should just transfer, somewhere far away. Maybe Nautilus, or Palumpolum.

The thought made her sick.

She dismounted her velocycle, fumbling with her keys all the way up the path to the door. She took a deep, shaky breath. She was nervous. She wasn’t ready to do this. She couldn’t.

She didn’t have to. The door swung open and Serah stormed out, her palm slamming hard into the side of Lightning’s face. Her cheek stung in an instant.

“You,” Serah growled, stepping out farther and pushing at Lightning’s shoulders. She stumbled backwards, stunned, cupping her cheek. “Are a complete and utter _ass_ , Lightning! Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been? Do you know how crushed Lebreau is? And Snow-”

“Do you really think I give a damn how Snow feels?” Lightning growled, hand falling away from her face. She could feel the bright red handprint.

Serah’s eyes hardened. “No,” she said harshly, honestly. “I expected you to give a damn about how I feel.” Serah stomped back into the house. Lightning rubbed at her tender cheek and followed.

“How do you feel, Serah?”

“Pissed,” she snapped.

“Pissed?” Lightning challenged back.

“Yes, Lightning, I feel pissed!” Serah’s voice was high and tight, strained. It had been some time since Lightning heard her like this. She ignored the spike in her blood pressure at the memory.

“About what?” Lightning mused bitterly as she walked into the kitchen, tossing her pauldron on the counter and bending into the bottom drawer of the fridge for a beer. The six pack had been in there since her 21st birthday.

“Are you kidding me?” Serah was suddenly in the kitchen and Lightning turned to her as she popped the can. Serah’s small figure fought to stand tall, her face and ears bright red. She was so cute when she was mad.

Lightning took three long pulls before replying.

“Nope,” she backed up and hopped onto the counter. “I’m surprised you aren’t ecstatic. You get your new, big, behemoth of a boyfriend all to herself.” Her words were like glass and she’d never spoken to Serah like this, but she couldn’t stop; couldn’t filter her words. She was tired, broken. Fuck it. She raised the can to her lips, mumbling, “It’s a shame he didn’t get mauled by a real behemoth first.”

“Why are you being such a bitch?”

She felt the final shift, both of them hitting their breaking points. Serah’s hands shook with hurt while hers shook with rage. She should have stopped there, put the beer down and apologized. Promised to fix NORA and ask about Eden.

For some dumb reason, she didn’t stop there.

“Why do you even care?” The volume of her voice knocked Serah off her toes. She should have stopped. “Why? You have him now! You don’t need me anymore, Serah.” She slipped off the counter, her eyes stinging with more stupid tears. “You don’t want me anymore, Serah. You chose him over me, and you’re going away to school soon. You’re leaving me, Serah. So why do you fucking care?!” She ended with a heated, shrill scream of a question. Serah was pale, her eyes narrowed as she tried to process Lightning’s words.

Her breathing was labored, heavy. Her hands still shook, along with the rest of her body. She was breaking, piece by piece, second by second as she waited for Serah’s confirmation.

It didn’t come. Instead, Serah walked up to her, her eyes flickering back and forth between Lightning’s own, and she wrapped her slender arms around her sister’s neck. Enveloping her, consuming her for all she was worth. Serah’s cheek pressed into her own damp one, Serah’s lips brushing at her tears.

“I do need you. I always want you. I love you, Claire.” Serah’s arms were tight at the back of her neck, pulling her down into comfort. Something broke and Lightning dropped the forgotten can, gripping hard at the sides of Serah’s loose shirt. She leaned into her, relenting to the nightmares she’d had for nine damned days. The tears came freely now, running in waves down her face and into Serah’s hair.

“I missed you,” she said, disgusted with the squeak of desperation in her own voice.

“I missed you, Claire.” Lightning nodded, because that was enough, and buried her face deeper into Serah’s hair. When her shaking stopped and breathing slowed, Serah pulled back carefully, running her hands down Lightning’s body until she reached her hands. Lightning shivered, her sensitive skin erupting into goosebumps like it did whenever Serah touched her like this. Like Lightning was fragile.

Maybe she was.

“Let’s go have a real talk?” Serah asked. She nodded, wiping roughly at her eyes. Serah pushed them aside, brushing away her tears with her thumbs as she cupped her jaw. “Over a bath. You stink.”

Lightning rolled her eyes and snorted.

“I already took a shower.”

“And?”

-

 

The bath was hot, steam rising from the water. Lightning hissed as the water found a few cuts she hadn’t bothered to apply potions to. Her swollen, split knuckles hurt the worst, and Serah had to be the one to wash her hair.

“I was so scared, Lightning.” Serah said, her voice calm and gentle. Lightning let her eyes fall shut as her sister’s nails scraped lightly at her scalp. “I know you were, too.”

Lightning wouldn’t lie, so she said nothing, just sank deeper into the tub.

“I kept thinking about how wrong this all is,” Serah continued. It hurt, as it always did, but Serah’s hands in her hair softened the blow. This was all so wrong, and she knew it, but Serah felt too good to ever quit. “Then Snow asked me out, and…”

She took a long pause, planning out her words while she rinsed and worked the suds from Lightning’s hair.

“I saw a chance at a normal life, Light.” That one definitely hurt. Everything Lightning did was for Serah, to have a good life. Serah rubbed a generous amount of conditioner into her hands, twisting and tangling her fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp. Lightning groaned, and she didn’t have to look to see the smirk on Serah’s face. “But being without you? For nine days? It killed me to know you were avoiding me.” Guilt hit her hard. She hadn’t felt so many emotions at once in a long time.

“I’m sorry, Serah…” Her sister’s hands dropped to her collarbones and Lightning reached up to squeeze one, her arm breaking out in goosebumps. She blamed the chilled air.

“Snow came over everyday, but…” Lightning’s heart hammered. Had she read this all wrong? She sat up, tried to pull her hand away, but Serah was faster and weaved their fingers together, leaning into the claw foot tub to loop her arm around Lightning’s neck, their held hands resting on the other side of her collarbone. Serah’s breasts pressed against Lightning’s back, her thin shirt soaking through instantly. She could feel her sister’s nipples on her hot skin and her face flushed even deeper. “Stop.”

Lightning swallowed thickly and nodded. She hated how vulnerable she was when it came to this. How weak she was any time Serah was around. How her confidence swirled and seeped down the drain.

“I have never been so lonely, Claire…” Why did she even bother changing her name? It sent ripples of arousal through her body every time Serah said it, whether it was a whisper, a moan, or a curse.

Serah pressed a hot kiss to Lightning’s jaw, just below her ear, and she melted. “I broke up with him. I’m not going anywhere.”

Lightning didn’t move for a grand total of two seconds. When the words finally registered in her brain, she turned around, sloshing water be damned, and pulled Serah to her by her hair. They shared a bruising kiss, teeth clashing, tongues pushing, Serah just as dominating as she was. When Lightning pulled back, panting, she tugged at Serah’s shirt.

“Get in here,” she growled. Serah didn’t need the words to register. She stood up, hands lifting her shirt over her head before pushing both her skirt and panties down. Lightning watched hungrily, her hands itching to touch, as she scooted herself along the tub’s floor to make room for Serah.

The water had cooled down enough that Serah didn’t flinch as she stepped in, ignoring the space Lightning made for her and straddling the Commander’s lap, her bare center grinding against Lightning’s thigh. She gave a short, breathy moan at the contact and Serah grinned above her, crashing their lips together. They exploded this time, their kisses eager and messy, and Lightning had to firmly press her legs together to relieve some pressure. She was the Commander, but Serah was in charge of her every move.

She sucked hard on Serah’s bottom lip as her open hands skimmed up her sister’s torso, reaching her bare breasts and squeezing just how Serah liked. She bit Serah’s lip as she pinched her nipples, rough and unrelenting. Serah’s surprised gasp turned into a deep, animalistic moan and Lightning released her with a smug smirk.

Serah’s face, neck and chest were flushed a rosy pink. Lightning dragged her index finger down the valley between Serah’s breasts, smile still in place. She could feel a quip at the end of her sister’s tongue, but the poor girl couldn’t do anything but slide against Lightning’s thigh.

Suddenly, Lightning remembered something.

“They sent me home for the week.”

Serah stopped her movements, her half lidded eyes opening fully to look at her sister. “What? What for?”

Lightning shrugged, mumbled, “It doesn’t really matter,” and leaned forward to press a kiss to her sister’s collarbone. Serah wasn’t having that, though, and didn’t hesitate to yank Lightning back by her hair.

“Liar. Tell me.”

“I put in a little too much overtime.” Lightning leaned forward again, but Serah wasn’t playing by her rules. Serah shoved her knee between Lightning’s, tugging hard at her wet hair. Lightning’s face burned at the whimper she gave.

“How much overtime?”

Lightning’s hands rested at her waist, her thumbs anxiously rolling in circles against her skin.

“Sixteen hours.”

“That’s it? They’re sending you home for nearly a full week over sixteen hours? No.”

Lightning’s eyes trailed down Serah’s body to her toned stomach.

“I’ve been working sixteen hour days,” she admitted casually as she could, her voice only quivering a bit. Serah’s grip on her hair loosened a fraction, until she put it all together.

“For nine days?” Lightning sucked in her bottom lip and waited, bravely running a finger down the rest of Serah’s body, past her belly button and into the cooling water. “Lightning?” She nodded as she danced her fingers down Serah’s slit, the back of her hand brushing her sister’s ridiculously soft thigh.

Serah inhaled sharply when Lightning’s thumb found her clit, nails digging into her sister’s scalp, pulling her hair harder. Lightning loved it.

“You are,” Serah breathed out shakily, “in so much trouble after this. Oh!-”

Lightning slipped a finger into her with ease; Serah was so ready. A thumb rubbed her clit slowly, the finger inside her curling perfectly. Serah gave in, pulling Lightning’s mouth to her chest and grinding against her hand. The argument could wait. Nine days was far too long.


End file.
